Friday, April 09, 2010

Stupak? Can any Democrat ever really believe this is a loss? I am not shedding a tear, okay?

The Associated Press is reporting that Stupak, a member of Congress for the last 18 years, will make his announcement at 12:30 p.m. today in Marquette, Mich. Stupak had been targeted for defeat by some anti-tax, anti-government Tea Party activists for his role in the health care fight.


The real crime about this announcement is that violence played a roll in this.  The more than interesting aspect is that The Tea Party is claiming responsibility for it.  I happen to agree. 

Report criticizes 287(g) program

...The program is known as 287(g) and works as a partnership between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement agencies. It expands ICE's capacity to arrest, jail and remove illegal immigrants from the country.


The report, conducted in 2009, found terms of some of the 66 such programs across the nation were not being followed, that ICE had not provided adequate guidance and oversight of local police for the program, and that data collection to address civil rights concerns had yet to be established -- concerns immigrant advocates have been voicing for years.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has taken part in the program since 2008, and is one of 11 agencies nationwide that has officers trained to participate in both the jail and task force model of 287(g).

The jail model allows trained officers to check the immigration status of those arrested on state and local charges and taken to jail. The task force model allows trained officers to enforce federal immigration laws in the field in the course of their duties.


Since its inception in the county, the 26 trained 287(g) officers have put immigration detainers on more than 600 people, said Frederick County Sheriff's Office Capt. Tim Clarke.

The sheriff's office was not among the seven agencies reviewed in the report.

The report also criticized what it called inadequate and inconsistent training of 287(g) officers, and found that ICE has not prioritized resources toward the stated focus of the program: to deport criminals who are in the U.S. illegally and pose a threat to public safety or are a danger to the community.

"With no specific target levels for arrest, detention, and removal priority levels, and with performance measures that do not account for all investigative work and criminal prosecutions, ICE cannot be assured that the 287(g) program is meeting its intended purpose, or that resources are being appropriately targeted toward aliens who pose the greatest risk to public safety and the community," the report states....

Oda announced Canada will pump an additional $54.6 million into a Haitian hospital and the national police force


..."The Haitian government has to take the lead on co-ordination," International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said from Port-au-Prince, where she was on her third visit. "Fulfilling that plan has to be under the leadership of the Haitian government."


But a Canadian non-governmental group that is focused on Latin American issues questioned how Haiti can actually determine its own fate given it is a poor country with limited resources....

RNC chair is a trouble magnet - Credibility is the issue. Deliberately Exposing Young Republicans to scandal is an outrage. Lots of questions.


The committee faces the larger problem heading into November of having spent almost as much as it raised so far in this election cycle. To raise money for Republican candidates without the tarnished RNC brand, Steele's predecessor, Mike Duncan, has helped start an independent group called American Crossroads.

Gingrich goes racist.


"What we need is a president, not an athlete," Gingrich said during a question and answer period after his speech. He added: "Shooting three point shots may be clever, but it doesn't put anybody to work."